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• Drum & Bass / Jungle
• Goa / Psy-Trance

Coroner - Grin - 25-Mar-08 02:39 PM
Coroner's last full-length is a surprisingly considered and slower album that grooves far more than it thrashes, and since the band started by playing speedy, blazing metal it's a little strange to hear them actually relax a little. It's a logical step from the past two albums, which found the band exploring and experimenting with their sound more and adding more room to their compositions.

But don't let that fool you, this is by far Coroner's best album, and it's just as heavy as anything they've put out. Ron Royce's snarly, Tom G. Warrior-style vocals are still ever present beside his more-than-competent bass grooves, while Tommy T. Baron snakes across ten tracks with amazing finesse, displaying some his best riffs and blistering solos. And of course, Marquis Marky is behind the skins once again, only this time he's got a little more room to breathe, and has the chance to add some subtlety to his playing.

The songs themselves are without a doubt some of the best the band have written in their criminally-short career, and many of the tracks could arguably fit within some of the best technical metal songs written. The band sound at ease on this record, like a weight's been lifted off them and they finally have the space to just groove (see 'Serpent Moves'), and there's a laidback feel to the playing (even if they're still tight as hell). But this may just be on the surface, as they're still angry, Ron growling about doing things "when I feel like doing it" on 'Internal Conflicts' (which is also the song on the album that sounds most like their older output) and asking "why do I hate you?" on 'Still Thinking' while Tommy busts out sleazy riffs on 'Serpent Moves' and 'Still Thinking'. And yet there's some calmer moments too, like the opening of 'Caveat' and the hypnotising breakdown/end in 'Serpent Moves', and the band have even experimented with ambience in 'Dream Path' and 'Theme For Silence'. These little experiments would show up heavily later on 'The Unknown Unreleased Tracks', where the band fiddled with synthesizers and electronica, as well as their penchant for vocal samples.

And above all this, it's an extremely listenable album, a thinking man's thrash album that you can both headbang to and appreciate for all its finer nuances that the band have only really shown when they've slowed down and just grooved. It confused much of the band's fans when it was released, however, and like the band for much of their career, was ignored by all but hardcore devotees. A shame too, as it's still a fantastic album with production and songwriting that holds up to this day. Truly ahead of its time.

Skynet + Stakka* - Pathogen / Molecular - 20-Feb-07 11:26 AM
An absolutely top notch release from Stakka and Skynet, featuring their trademark futuristic soundscapes, sweeping atmospheric effects and synths that conjure up images of 'Blade Runner', and great vocal samples that suit the smooth, rolling basslines perfectly.

The first side, 'Pathogen', is probably one of the finest techstep songs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing and while 'Molecular' is a little less epic, it's definitely a very good track in its own right.

Technical Itch - Therapy Session Vol. 1 - 30-Jan-07 02:49 AM
Truly one of the darkest, most evil mixes you'll ever hear in the dnb genre, executed stunningly by one of the most prolific darkstep producers ever, Technical Itch. A sonic journey that's never dull but does drag slightly near the end because of just how damn punishing the mix is overall. Thumping, distorted, sleazy basslines, layers of snares and kicks that'll rattle your bones, all tied together with some truly nasty samples and obligatory horror movie quotes. Limewax features rather heavily also, but with good reason - he's got some killer tracks that fit in perfectly with the sound of the mix and shows he's got a good future in production ahead of him. And there's also some nice ambient moments thanks to Danny Holdtight's Motel and Tech Itch's Demon, which provide a rare breather for the listener, but it's not long before we're back being pummeled - and that's the way it should be.

It's a perfect example of how dark dnb should sound; dirty, dark, and hard, and with amazing drops and evil samples just where they should be. Highly recommended.

Various - Ultimate Drum And Bass Album - 16-Jan-07 06:06 AM
A fairly decent selection of tracks from the drum n bass back archives, however although the sticker on the front advertises that the album features 'all the biggest guns on the scene', there are some notable omissions - Dom & Roland, Origin Unknown, Goldie, Technical Itch and LTJ Bukem, to name a few. It cannot really be called an 'ultimate' album, then. However, if you're judging the quality based on the actual tracks themselves, there's definitely some good club-centric wobbly bass stuff like Dillinja and Adam F, and quite a few very good classic tunes from back in the day like Deep Blue's Helicopter Tune, Blame's Music Takes you, Renegade's Terrorist and Omni Trio's Renegade Snares. There's also a fair bit of the lighter side of the genre, like High Contrast, PFM and Hyper-On Experience, but as stated before no real representation of the darker side at all.

Buy it if you want some unmixed versions of the tracks here, but don't expect an ultimate collection by any means. Would be a good purchase for someone who is not well-versed in drum n bass or not into the harder, darker side of the genre.

Pantera - Reinventing The Steel - 23-Oct-06 11:20 PM
Although they don't 'reinvent' much on this album, it's still an album that any Pantera fan should like. However, much like 'The Great Southern Trendkill', it's also pretty underrated. It's got the same killer riffs, squealing solos and neckbreaking grooves that all their previous records have, as well as some of Vinnie Paul's most complex drumming. It may drag a little towards the end, but it's still one kickass album.

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